Sake (nihonshu in Japanese) has played a central role in Japanese culture for the past two millennia, although the production technique was first employed in the Yangtze Valley in China in 4800 B.C.

Sake is a fermented beverage brewed using koji mould (aspergillus oryzae) and yeast. It is a beer, although most western consumers think of it as wine, as it has no carbonation and is of a creamy clear colour.

The alcohol content of naturally brewed sake varies between 13 – 16 ABV (Alcohol by volume).

Sake starts with rive. There are 120 000 varieties of rice, but Japanese brewers (toji) believe that only 46 of them are suitable for brewing.

First, the rice is polished, a process that removes proteins and oils form the outer layers of the kernel and the core (starch) remains intact. The more rice is polished, the more congeners (flavour particles) are removed.

Some brewers polish kernel up to 50 per cent, others 40 or 30.The best sake rice is called yamadanishiki, the more common, sasanishiki.

After polishing, the rice is steamed and stored in a “culture room” to be inoculated with koji. The mixture “rests” for 48 hours and subsequently water and yeast are added to the koji-laden mixture.

Water is an important ingredient, and its purity contributes to quality and taste, as it does to beer.

Koji converts starch to glucose, and yeast converts glucose to alcohol. In sake production, these processes occur successively.

Steamed rice is added to the fermenting mixture along with appropriate amounts of koji, yeast and water for three successive days to keep the fermentation going, which can last anywhere from 14 – 42 days. In olden times, fermentation lasted 18 – 30 days.

This mixture is now called moromi.

Tradtionally fishermen were the brewers. Sake was brewed during witner months when fishing was impossible due to rough seas.

Modern breweries run all year and emloy brewers more knowledgeable about chemistry.

Once the fermentation stops, the mixture is drained. Traditionally, small quantities were placed in cheesecloth pouches and hung in kettles to accumulate the liquid, which is milky white. These days, filters are used.
After filtration, sake is pasteurized.

There are 1600 sake breweries in Japan in 46 prefectures (A prefecture is more or less a county and political administration unit).

Breweries are located from Hokkaido Island in the north all the way south to Kagoshima and Okinawa Island.

There are several sake quality levels:

Junmai rice is polished to 70 per cent of the original volume
Ginjo rice is polished to 60 per cent of the original volume
Daiginjo rice is polished to 50 per cent of the original volume
Junmai quality sake contains added alcohol; others may, or may not. Futsu, honjozo, ginjo and daiginjo contain added alcohol, whereas junmai, junmaiginjo, junmai daiginjo are natural.

Junmai, junmai daiginjo quality sakes smell fruity, are light, fragrant, complex, and refined. Some smell of apricots and peaches, are smooth with lively acidity, others may have an oily mouhtfeel, nutty flavours are off dry or completely dry.

Sake should be evaluated for:

Impact (sweetness or lack of it)
Fragrance
Texture
Complexity (earthiness etc)
Finish

Ordinary sake is never aged, tokutei meisho-shu (high quality) may be aged for a few weeks, and koshu is aged (according to the philosophy of the brewery. Kuro and taru sake are aged in wooden barrels for up two years.

Connoisseurs drink sake lightly chilled, and pour approximately 100 ml into specially designed ceramic containers. Some breweries recommend warming sake. This hides imperfections of the brew.

Store sake in a cool dry dark place, and no longer than a year
Sake does not improve with age, exceptions not withstanding.

Food and Sake pairings:

Fruity sakes go best with vegetable dishes, and moderately flavoured meats i.e poultry and fish.

Light ad refreshing sakes – freshly shucked oysters, baked fish, light seafood casseroles, and sushi.

Rich and full-bodied sakes – pastas with creamy sauce, flatfish fillets with creamy sauces, sautéed chicken, pan-fried tuna, and sashimi.

Ages sakes- beef or pork roasts, roasted root vegetables, braised veal with spicy sauce, fruit-stuffed roasted pork loin, duck breast with cherry sauce, and maguro tuna sashimi.

Sake keeps well for a few weeks, unlike wine, after opening.

The biggest sake brewers i.e Gekeikkan and Hakustsuru are most widely available practically all over the world, but of late entrepreneurs ins North America started opening breweries. There are now a few based in Oregon and small ones in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada to satisfy demand, for freshly brewed sake.
In Japan artisan breweries abound and by all accounts brew the best-tasting sakes, i.e Takasago Shuzo, Akita Seishu, Yama Togava, Sudi Honke, Tentaka, Hakkaisan, Hitosuji, Narutotai, Tozai, Yoinotsuki, Umenishiki, Narutotai, Tsukasabotan, Tenkabotan, Imade, Yoshida, Tenzan, Toshima, Tokubetsu, Kanbara, Rihaku Nigori, Osake (Vancouver, British Columbia).

Multinational brew in a number of countries, some of their products are fine, but most are marketed on price only.

Japanese food (sushi and sashimi) has become popular in North America, but the cuisine is varied and offers many more gustatory pleasures.

Some are:

Chawan-mushi – steamed or baked savoury custard
Dashi – broth infused with dried bonito tuna flakes and kelp
Hamachi – yellow tail
Maguro – tuna
Mirugai – giant clam
Miso – fermented soybean paste, salt, and rice or barley
Omakase – chef’s choice menu similar to table d’hote in western restaurants
Ponzu – dipping sauce with lemon juice or vinegar
Soy sauce – sake, kelp and dashi
Tataki – spiced, seared and chopped tuna or beef
Tobiko – flying fish roe
Toro – fatty tuna belly
Uni – sea urchin
Wasabi – Japanese pungent horseradish usually served with pickled ginger and sushi
Yuzu – slightly acidic citrus fruit indigenous to Japan.

Fine sake brands you can buy with confidence. They may not be available in small cities. New York City, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Vancouver, Montreal, London, Frankfurt am Main, and paris offer the best choices in the west, and Tokyo in the east.

Hakkaisan, Mount Hakkai – Honjozo quality
Senchu Hassaku – Eight Point Plan, Tenkabotan Junmai quality
Gorgeous Plan Umenishiki Sake – Hitosuji, junmai ginjo quality
Naroto‘s Sea Bream, Narutotai, Junmai ginjo quality
Midnightmoon – Yoinotsuki , Daiginjo quality
Snow Maiden, Tozai, daiginjo quality
Livign jewel, Tozai, daiginjo quality
Dreamy Clouds, Rihaku Nigori junmai ginjo quality
Heaven’s Door, Tokubetsu, Junmai quality
Pride of the Fox – Kanbara, Junmai ginjo quality

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